Thursday, November 01, 2012

Hot Spiced Chai with Cashew Sesame Mylk for Virtual Vegan Potluck Nov2012


Welcome VVP visitors! I am delighted to have you here. :)

When I signed up under 'Beverages' for the Virtual Vegan Potluck, I had intended to make a decadent, icy, chocolatey vegan shake of sorts. But since I've been over indulging over the past few days and because of the cold, rainy weather we've been having today, I decided to make a hot and comforting beverage instead.

Hot Spiced Chai with Cashew Sesame Mylk

For many years, I've relished the ritual of drinking hot tea every evening. After going vegan (over 9 years ago), I switched to soy for my daily dose of chai. Earlier this year, I discovered the magical taste of chai that's brewed with cashew mylk. It melds with the flavours of the added spices and is super smooth going down the throat. Simply amazing!

Recently, I've started to add a handful of sesame seeds with the cashews while grinding them to make the mylk to boost the healthy, calcium content. It also serves to enhance the taste of the mylk and subsequently, the tea made from it.

The spices in this Masala Chai help digestion and soothe the throat. So sip on some after you've enjoyed all the gastronomical delights that my fellow VVP bloggers have brought to the potluck today to help settle your tummy. ;)

Hot Spiced Chai with Cashew Sesame Mylk

Hot Spiced Chai with Cashew Sesame Mylk

For the raw sesame-cashew mylk:

1/2 C Cashew
1/4 C Sesame Seeds
2 C Filtered Water

Grind the cashews and sesame seeds to a fine powder.
Add 1/4 C water and blend to a smooth cream.
Add remaining 1 3/4 C water and blend well to get mylk.
Pour into a pitcher, cover and store in the fridge for up to a week.

For the tea (serves one person):

1/2 C Water

1 inch Ginger
4 Cloves
1 inch Cinnamon
4 Pepper Corns
1 Cardamom Pod

1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Tea Powder

1/2 C Sesame-Cashew Mylk.

Heat water in a small pan.
Crush the whole spices and add to the water.
Boil for a few minutes to infuse the water with flavours of the spices.
Add sugar and boil for half a minute to dissolve the sugar.
Add tea powder and stir well.
Pour in the sesame-cashew mylk and stir.
Boil for another minute or two on medium heat, until the tea gets frothy.
Turn off the heat.
Strain the tea into a cup/mug through a metal tea strainer.
Press down into the strainer with a spoon to squeeze every last drop of tea into the mug.
Enjoy your piping hot cup of Vegan Masala Chai! :)
*slurp*

Hot Spiced Chai with Cashew Sesame Mylk

Virtual Vegan Potluck, the brainchild of Ann of An Unrefined Vegan, is a twice yearly global blogging event. This time, a hundred and four bloggers will be 'bringing' a vegan dish to the virtual potluck by posting a recipe. The blogs are arranged in order of the courses of a meal. We have Appetizers (18), Beverages (5), Breads (5), Salads (5), Side Dishes (9), Soups (10), Main Dishes (23) and Desserts (29).

Each blog post is linked to the blog before it and after it on the list so it's easy for visitors to jump from one recipe to the next in the order of the courses. My Hot Spiced Chai with Cashew Sesame Mylk is the 22nd recipe on the list. You can start at the beginning of the list by visiting the host site Vegan Bloggers Unite or move to the previous or next blog by clicking on the links below.

Lorna's Tea Room DelightsAir Eater

Thanks for dropping by. :)

49 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you decided on this recipe, Susmitha! I love chai and I'm fascinated by the cashew/sesame milk! Thank you for being a part of the Potluck!

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  2. Thank you! So much better than the shake, for the weather we've been having! I love the idea of making a milk with a blend of nuts and seeds.

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    1. Thanks for visiting, sweetveg. :) Hot chai is a great thing for cold weather.

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  3. Sounds like the perfect drink for a cold, autumn evening.

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  4. ahhh i'd drink cup fulls of this tea all day!

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    1. Haha me too, me too. :D Well right now at least because we're having very Seattle-like weather here. Rainy and cold and dingy. I'm surprised the pics turned out okay despite the weather. Of course they needed artistic tweaks to make them look appealing. :op

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  5. This sounds great!

    I never thought of using sesame seeds to make nut-milk before... Do you think it's possible to make a milk with only the sesame, or do you think sesame is only good as a flavor accompaniment to nuts, like cashews or almonds?

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    1. Allison, yep you can make mylk with only sesame seeds. A lot of my vegan friends here in India do that and they say it's very tasty. I haven't tried it yet though.

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  6. This looks wonderful, I think I want to come round to your house on a rainy day for a cup of chai. :-)

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  7. Warm and spiced chai is grand for the soul! Thanks for this lovely recipe!

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  8. Oh, this sounds so delicious & warming! I like that it's made from cashews & sesame seeds for extra full-bodied, creamy goodness. It's been getting awfully chilly here! A toasty cup of chai sounds about perfect!

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    1. Come on over, Cadry. I'll make a cup of masala chai for you. :)

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  9. Yum, that looks so delicious. I wish I had some right now, it's finally getting chilly here in Boston.

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    1. Thanks Lisa. :) It seems to be getting cold everywhere these days. Brrrr.

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  10. Love Chai, looking forward to making this, thank-you

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    1. Do let me know how you like it, Dena. Thanks for visiting. :)

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  11. Just making my way through the VVP & wanted to say hey :-)

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  12. I love chai tea, but I normally have it with soy or almond milk. Your recipe for cashew sesame mylk sounds so good though, I've never thought to put something like sesame seeds in milk before!

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    1. The sesame seeds make the mylk extra yummy and creamy. :)

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  13. What a great, comforting & spiced up drink! I love it! I also make my own plant-based milk but never made the combo sesame & cashew: must tastes divine!

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    1. Oh it totally does taste divine. :) Do try it out the next time you make nut mylk.

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  14. Chai! Mmmm :) This recipe looks wonderful, and I would have never thought to try it with cashew mylk. I'm a BIG chai fan - drink it nearly every day, so thanks for the new ideas. Bless xx

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  15. I've never thought of adding sesame seeds to the cashew milk. Seems like it would tone the flavor perfectly. I love this!

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    1. It really does, Somer. I do that for ice creams too now.

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  16. This is a lovely idea, I have never thought about making my own cashew milk before. This comes at a great time because I have been despairing lately about how much sugar and salt is added to most soy, rice, oat and nut milks that you buy in the store. So I will have to give this a try I think!

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    1. Yeah it's best to avoid that packaged stuff as much as possible. I prefer to make soymilk at home too. The packaged ones just don't taste as good as the home made kind.

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  17. I'll take it cold or hot...you know because that's how I am ;)
    Thanx for a wonderful post. Great moFo ing and potlucking with ya, my friend.

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    1. Even I had an awesome time 'fighting' by your side through MoFo, Gi. :)

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  18. This is the first time I've heard of cashew mylk but it's so simple I can't wait to try it!

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    1. The healthier method of making it involves soaking the cashews for at least 6 hours, rinsing them and then grinding them into mylk. But more often than not, I end up making it in this dry grinding method because it's so convenient and quick. Haha

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  19. I am going to have to try this! :) Thanks for the recipe.

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    1. You're welcome, Tiffany. :) Do let me know how you like it when you make it.

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  20. how you manage to keep the milk for 1 week in the fridge. do you keep in the freezer section? mine gets spoiled in 3 days. i only make cashew milk. any reasons for this or is it due to the damp weather here.

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    1. Hi dassana, I don't keep it in the freezer, it stays fine in the fridge. Sometimes for longer than a week too. Like you said, maybe it's the weather difference which reduces the shelf life of it there for you.

      Or maybe the fridge makes a difference too? My fridge is 539L and is 4 years old. There's usually plenty of space inside so it's not too full. These things matter too because now that I think about it, things spoil quicker in my mom's older, smaller fridge compared to mine and we live in the same city.

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  21. What amazing flavour combinations.
    Thank you for the great recipe.

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  22. I could go for some of this right now - I'm going through a bit of a sesame seed phase at the moment (and I'm never out of a tea phase), so this is just calling out to me!

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  23. Looks and sounds so good and nurturing :)
    Happy to have found you on vegan richa. Xo ella

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  24. I finally got around to try this, and is was so good, very delicious - especially the mylk. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
    Greetings from Germany
    Mrs. Beetroot

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